Russia decides “at the highest level” to remove the Afghan Taliban from the list of terrorists

• Moscow is convinced of a “realistic dialogue” with the Afghan government: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• The decision needs various legal procedures to become a reality: envoy.
• Russia added the Afghan Taliban to its terrorist list in 2003.

Russia’s foreign ministry said on Friday that the decision to remove the Afghan Taliban from the list of terrorist organizations was “taken at the highest level”. TASS the news agency reported.

The decision must be followed through various legal procedures in order to become a reality, President Vladimir Putin’s special representative for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, was quoted as saying.

Putin said in July that Russia considered the Afghan Taliban movement an ally in the fight against terrorism.

Russia has been slowly building ties with the Taliban since it seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 as US-led forces withdrew after 20 years of war, but the movement is still officially outlawed in Russia.

No country has officially recognized the Taliban-led government as the country’s legitimate leader, although China and the United Arab Emirates have received its ambassadors.

Russia added the Afghan Taliban to its list of terrorist organizations in 2003. Its removal would be a major step by Moscow toward normalizing relations with Afghanistan.

The Taliban’s deputy foreign minister, Amir Khan Mutaki, said in a speech in Moscow that recent decisions by Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to remove former insurgents from the list of banned groups was a welcome step.

“We also appreciate the positive remarks from the high-ranking officials of the Russian Federation on this issue and hope to see more effective steps soon,” he said.

In separate comments on Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was convinced of the need to maintain “realistic dialogue” with the current Afghan government.

“It is obvious that it is impossible to solve problems or even discuss a settlement in Afghanistan without Kabul,” Lavrov said.

“Moscow will continue its course of developing political, trade and economic ties with Kabul,” he added, speaking at a meeting in Moscow with Muttaqi and representatives of neighboring countries.

While he did not mention the Taliban by name, he praised the current Afghan leadership for its efforts to curb drug production and combat Daesh, which is outlawed in Russia.

Muttaqi said countries in the region should work together against Daesh, which he said has set up training centers outside Afghanistan.

Lavrov said the United States should return seized assets to Afghanistan and the West should accept responsibility for the country’s post-conflict reconstruction.

The Russian foreign minister also called for an increase in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and said Russia would continue to send him food and basic goods.

Russia has a troubled history in Afghanistan, where the Soviet military invaded in 1979 to support a pro-Moscow government, but withdrew 10 years later after suffering heavy casualties at the hands of mujahideen fighters.

Russia and its post-Soviet neighbors have suffered repeated attacks from militant groups linked to Afghanistan — most recently in March, when 145 people were killed in an attack claimed by Daesh at a concert hall near Moscow.